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Frankfurt am Main, 31. 12. 1982
Agkistrodon in Europe
(Reptilia: Serpentes: Viperidae)
RoGER CoNANT
With 1 figure
Agkistrodon has long been considered as a part of the fauna of Europe but,
during the preparation of a monograph on the genus and its allies (GLOYD &
CONANT, in prep.) questions arose concerning whether it still occurs on that
continent. Has it survived in the areas from which it previously was reported?
Have the numerous and varied changes in the boundary between Europe and
Asia, which began to appear on maps soon after World War I, resulted in the
line being shifted far enough to exclude pit vipers from Europe?
Although the natural distributions of animals are unaffected by man-made
political boundaries, it seemed desirable nonetheless to i11vestigate the subject.
Two refere11ces were of particular interest.
(1) In his "Snakes of Europe", BouLENGER (1913: 264) stated that
Ancistrodon (= Agkistrodon) halys was known in Europe from only two arid
tracts between the Volga and Ural rivers near the Caspian Sea, viz., the SaltanMurat Desert and the Induski Hills.
The Saltan-Murat Desert was about two days journey northeast of Krasnoi
Jar at the mouth of the Volga, according to STRAUCH (1873: 242), and the map
of the regio11 in PALLAS (1776: 575) clearly shows Festung [Fort] Krasnojarsk
011 the east bank of the Volga close to its mouth. The Induski Hills (or mountai11s), according to SCHREIBER (1912: 591), are not far from the Fortress I11derskaja Gorskaya (the Russian town of Inderborskiy), which is 011 the east bank
of the Ural approximately 175 km 11orth of the mouth of that river and near
Ozero (lake) Inder.
Although he included 110 map in his "Snakes of Europe", BoULENGER (1913)
evide11tly considered the Ural River to be part of the contine11tal boundary,
because he gave the ra11ges of Coluber dione and Ancistrodon halys in European
Russia as between the Volga and Ural. His co11cept of the southern bou11dary,
between the Black and Caspian seas, was evidently the crest of the Caucasus
Mountains, inasmuch as he included Tarbophis iberus as a component of the
European fauna because it was on record from the northern slope of that range.
Some of the contemporary atlases, however, such as PERTHES (1908: pl. 7) and
REYNOLDS (1914: 77) showed Europe as extending south of the Caucasus to the
borders of Persia and Turkey.
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(2) The Russian field guide to amphibians and reptiles (BANNIKOV et al.
1977: map 107) indicated a number of localities for Agkistrodon north of the
Caspian Sea. An inquiry regarding them was addressed to Dr. DAREVSKY, of
the Zoologi.cal Institute, Academy of Sciences, Leningrad, and he reported that
the presence of Agkistrodon at Ozero Inder, near the Induski Hills ( = Indersky
Mountains ), is documented by several specimens (ZlL 16206, 16208-16209) in
the Leningrad collection, and that it is the only locality in the Ural River Valley
supported by material in Russian museums with the exception of Gur'jev (ZIL
16960). (The National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.,
also has a specimen, USNM 14319, from Gur'jev.) Through an unfortunate oversight, Gur'jev, which is at the mouth of the Ural, was not plotted on map 107
(BANN!KOY et al. 1977).
DAREVSKY stressed that the localities shown in the lower Volga Valley are
based on data from the older literature, and that the genus has not been found
west of the Volga during the past 100 years. A party of his colleagues searched
for it in the area as recently as the summer of 1980, but without success. Thus
Agkistrodon, in all probability, still occurs in the lower Ural Valley, including
the Indersky Mountains, but its survival in the lower Volga Valley is open
to doubt or at least is unproved.
The boundary between Europe and Asia, which had long been comparatively
stable, underwent a highly confusing series of changes soon after World War l
as a result of events occurring in the UdSSR. Dr. E. NrcHOLAS ARNOLD, of the
British Museum (Natural History), was able to provide an important clue
concerning what had happened by appealing to the Royal Geographical Society
for an opinion. The reply from that organization (in part), in the words of
Dr. ARNOLD, was that "The earliest instance they have of a change is in the
Statesman's Year Book for 1926, but they are not clear about the surrounding
cir.cumstances. Certainly there was no international agreement, for there is
no body that rules on supranational boundaries. lt seems that the apparent
continental boundary change is really based on internal rearrangement of borders
between constituent republics of the UdSSR. This took place in the 1920's but,
because the period was so turbulent, it is impossible to say exactly when."
In an effort to trace at least some of the relocations, literally dozens of maps
and references in three languages were examined and, from a comparison of
these, several interesting facts emerged. lt is superfluous to attempt following
the detailed peregrinations of the boundary, but a few examples will indicate
some of the trends and show how the shifts could have affected the basic
question of whether Agkistrodon is currently represented in Europe.
One of the first notable changes, at least in the area of immediate concern,
occurred when the line was moved from a short distance west of the Ural River
to a new one close to the Volga, apparently to make the continental border agree
with the western limits of the Kazakhskaya SSR. This alteration may be readily
seen in SHEPHERD (1973) by comparing map 167 (Europe, 1871-1914) with map
168 g (Europe in 1929). According to either of these two maps all records for
Agkistrodon from the Ural Valley would be in Asia.
The conventional boundary along the Ural Mountains was also moved
(BETHEL 1957), by the political division of the UdSSR. into European and Asian
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segments, with the net result that the Molotov Region, west of the Urals, was
then considered as a part of Asia.
The same source gave the southern (land) boundary of Europe as Iran and
Turkey in Asia. Drawing the line along the common border of the UdSSR. and
Iran, as was clone on many maps for decades, would have the effect of placing
Fig. 1. Agkistrodon halys caraganus. Mangyshlak P eninsula, east coast of Caspian Sea,
Kazakhskaya SSR. - Photo by R. M. Bo wERMAN and J. E. WERLER (Houston Zoo).
A gkistrodon in another part of Europe. NrKoL'SKII (1916: 274) described
Ancistrodon halys caucasicus three years after the publication of the "Snakes
of Europe" (BouLENGER 1913), basing the new form on specimens from the
Lenkoran District, which occupies the southernmost tip of Russian territory on
the western side of the Caspian Sea. lt is now known that Agkistrodon is weil
distributed in the Lenkoran area, according to map 107 (inset) in the Russian
field guide (BANNIKOV et al. 1977).
Fortunately, the confusion has now apparently come to an end. MoNKHOUSE
(1965) reported that the Soviet government had accepted the recommendations
of a conference of Russian geographers convened in 1958, and that the boundary
now follows the base of the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains and their
extension, the Mugodzhar Bills, the Emba River, the northern side of the
Caspian Sea, the Kumo-Manychskaya Vpadina (depression), and the Kerchenski
193
Strait to the Black Sea. As a result, the Urals are now all included in Europe,
whereas the Caucasus Mountains are in Asia. ERAMOV (1975) indicated essentially the same boundary by reporting that the commonly accepted border
between Europe and Asia passes through the eastern foothills of the Ural Mountains and along the Emba River to the Caspian Sea and along the Kuma and
Manych rivers to the mouth of the Don River.
The Emba River lies to the southeast of the Ural, and thus the entire Ural
Valley is now .c onsidered tobe in Europe and with it the localities for Agkistrodon that are supported by museum specimens. Placing the line through the
Kumo-Manychskaya Depression, well to the north of the Caucasus, means that
the populations of Agkistrodon in the Lenkoran District are in Asia.
The taxon of this pit viper complex that presumably is still present in the
Ural Valley and possibly also in the Volga Valley is Agkistrodon halys caraganus, described by EICHWALD in 1831 as Trigonocephalus caraganus.
The question of whether Agkistrodon still occurs in Europe can be answered
in the affirmative, at least for the present.
Acknowledgments
For their assistance in providing information pertinent to the preparation of this
paper, for making critical comments, or assisting with translations I am indebted to
Dr. E. NICHOLAS ARNOLD, Miss MARY L. BLAKELEY, Dr. WILLIAM M. CLAY, Dr. lLYA
S. DAREVSKY, Miss ALICE G. C. GRANDISON, Mr. RENE E. HoNEGGER, Dr. GEORGE J.
JACOBS, Dr. KoNRAD KLEMMER, Mr. MILAN LIPENSKI, Mr. EDMOND V. MALNATE, Dr.
Ivo PoGLAYEN-NEUWALL, Mr. Lours W. PoRRAs, Mr. IVAN REHAK, and Mr. LUDWIG
TRUTNAU.
My late close friend and colleague, Dr. HowARD K. GLOYD, encouraged me to pursue the topic with which this contribution is concerned. Place names in the text are
spelled as they appear in the references cited or, in other cases (sometimes in parentheses),
they are in accordance with those used in the Times Atlas of the World (1971).
Summary
The pit viper, Agkistrodon halys caraganus (EICHWALD), which is documented by
specimens in museums in Leningrad and Washington, apparently survives in the valley
of the Ural River. lt may also survive in the Volga Valley. Many conflicting changes in
the political boundary between Europe and Asia have appeared on maps published
since World War I, but the Soviet government has ended the confusion by approving
the recommendations of Russian geographers made in 1958. The line, which lies entirely
within the UdSSR, follows the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains and their extension,
the Mugodzhar Hills, the Emba River, the north shore of the Caspian Sea, the KumoManychskaya Vpadina, and the Kerchenski Strait to the Black Sea. Thus, the Ural and
the Volga are considered to be in Europe, and all records for Agkistrodon from the
valleys of both rivers are also in Europe.
194
Zusammenfassung
Die Grubenotter Agkistrodon halys caraganus (EICHWALD), die durch Sammlungsexemplare in den Museen von Leningrad und Washington belegt ist, kommt vermutlich
noch im Tal des Ural wie auch in dem der Wolga vor. Die politische Grenze zwischen
Europa und Asien wurde durch die geschichtliche Entwicklung seit dem 1. Weltkrieg
kartographisch unterschiedlich dargestellt. Die sowjetische Regierung beendete diese Unklarheiten, indem sie eine im Jahre 1958 von russischen Geographen empfohlene Grenzziehung anerkannte. Diese folgt dem Ostabfall des Ural-Gebirges und dessen Ausläufern,
den Mugodzhar-Bergen, dem Emba-Fluß, dem Nordufer des Kaspischen Meeres, dem
Kumo-Manychskaya Vpadina und der Kerchenski-Straße zum Schwarzen Meer. Somit
gehören Ural und Wolga zu Europa, und alle Nachweise von Agkistrodon aus beiden
Flußtälern sind zur europäischen Fauna zu zählen.
References
BANNIKov, A. G., DAREVSKY, I. S., IsHCHENKO, V. G., RusTAMov, A. K. & SHCHERBAK,
N. N. (1977): Classification key to the amphibians and reptiles of the USSR
[in Russian]. - Moscow (Izdatyelstvo).
BETHEL, J. P., gen. ed. (1957): Europe. - Webster's geogr. Dictionary (revised ed.):
347, map 22. Springfield, Massachusetts (Merriam).
BouLENGER, G. A. (1913): The snakes of Europe. - London (Methuen).
EICHWALD, C. E. VON (1831): Zoologia Specialis quam expositis Animalibus turn vivis,
cum fossilibus potissimum Rossiae in universum, et Polonia in specie, ...
part. 3: 170. Vilnae (Josephi Zawadzki).
ERAMOV, R. A. (1970, Engl. transl. 1975): Europe. - In: PROKHOROV, A. M. (ed.), Great
Soviet Encyclopedia (ed. 3), 9: 145-153. New York (Macmillan).
GLOYD, H. K. & CONANT, R . (in prep.): A review of Agkistrodon and its related genera.
MoNKHOUSE, F. J. (1965): Europe. - In: PREECE, W. E. (ed.), Encyclopaedia Britannica,
8: 836. Chicago, London, Toronto, Geneva, Sydney, Tokyo (William Benton).
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Reptiles, 2 Ophidia. - Jerusalem (Israel Program sei. Transl.).
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die Wolga im 1773sten Jahre): 457-760. St. Petersburg.
PERTHES, J. (1908): Stielers Hand-Atlas. - Gotha (Perthes).
REYNOLDS, F. ]., ed. (1914): The new encyclopedic atlas and gazetteer of the world
(Panama-Pacific ed.). - New York (Collier).
SCHREIBER, E. (1912): Herpetologia Europaea (2. Aufl.). - Jena (Guscav Fischer).
SHEPHERD, W. R. (1973): Shepherd's historical atlas (ed. 9, revised). - New York
(Barnes and Noble).
STRAUCH, A. (1873): Die Schlangen des Russischen Reichs, in systematischer und zoogeographischer Beziehung. - Mem. Acad. imp. Sei. St. Petersbourg, 21 (4):
1-287. St. Petersbourg.
Times Atlas of the World (ed. 3, revised) (1971) - Boston, Massachusetts (Houghton
Mifflin).
Author: ROGER CoNANT, Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, University of New
Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, U.S.A.
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